There was a 43% increase in the number of child abuse referrals to Tusla in the first quarter of this year.

There were sharp rises in concerns about emotional and sexual abuse, compared to the same period last year.

The Child and Family Agency received 7,613 referrals relating to child abuse in the first three months of this year - up from 5,307 in the same period last year, according to Tusla's latest figures.

This year, there has been a 34% increase in sexual abuse referrals - with 1,029 received.

Eve Farrelly is the executive director of the Children at Risk in Ireland Foundation.

"What I think this figure is showing really is that we have people who are making more referrals into Tusla.

"That could be that mandated reporting is working really well, it could be that organisations providing training on child protection are upskilling their staff to be able to identify signs of abuse - and upskilling them on how to give that report in".

A breakdown of the sexual abuse referrals shows the highest number in the first three months of this year was in Cork, at 151.

Emotional abuse has doubled, with more than 3,600 incidents recorded.

There has been a smaller increase in physical abuse or neglect, with 8% and 7% rises respectively.